Kukla's Korner Hockey

With nine weeks before the March 9 trade deadline, Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough has found himself in a delicate position.
Beginning Jan. 1, all NHL teams were given authorization to resume -- or begin -- negotiations with their own players who can become unrestricted free agents July 1.
Nine Wild players on its NHL roster -- goalies Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson; defensemen Willie Mitchell, Filip Kuba, Andrei Zyuzin and Daniel Tjarnqvist, and forwards Marc Chouinard, Alexandre Daigle and Randy Robitaille -- are due to become unrestricted free agents.
"This is definitely an uncomfortable part of the job and something I have to careful of," Risebrough said. "I've got guys here that I've got to legitimately try to re-sign. These guys do provide continuity.